''Marlow has a poetic eye . . . But it''s her mix of detective story and Gothic ghosts, ancient folk legends and lingering wartime trauma, that lift the book'' Financial Times, Best new thrillers

Warwickshire, 1934

Deep in a hamlet in the Warwickshire countryside, Red Hollow Hall is a male-only sanatorium run by the charismatic psychiatrist Dr Moon. However, all is not well, and Dr Moon''s patients are leaving Red Hollow in droves.

Recent disturbances, which originally appeared to be pranks, have descended into something more sinister, and now the men believe they have a malevolent visitor - the mermaid of Red Hollow. The ghost of a murdered girl, they are convinced the mermaid wreaks bloody revenge on unsuspecting men each time the hamlet floods.

When private enquiry agent, William Garrett, and freshly minted detective, Phyll Hall, are called in to uncover the identity of the intruder, they become trapped in a world of madness, the occult, and grisly murder. A world where William must use all his strength to differentiate between the real-life monster haunting Red Hollow Hall and the monsters of the mind.

The Red Hollow is the follow-up to Natalie Marlow''s critically acclaimed debut, Needless Alley.

''As full of atmosphere as the author''s critically acclaimed debut'' Prima

''Superbly researched, spine-tingling, and magnificently atmospheric'' Abir Mukherjee, author of The Shadows of Men

''A truly splendid, wicked gem of a book. I loved it'' Tom Mead, author of Death and the Conjuror